Severing machine for forming tufted fabrics



May 22, 1962 F. W. RIDDLE SEVERING MACHINE FOR FORMING TUF'TED FABRICS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March l0, 1958 y y- INVENTOR.

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May 22, 1962 F. w. RIDDLE 3,035,326

SEVERING MACHINE FOR FORMING TUFTED FABRICS Filed March l0, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4o l 43 l E 30/ so 3e 32 |'5 52 41 4:5/Y 1 FIG. 4

INVEN TOR.

B @da MJ@ 3,035,326 SEVERING MACHINE VFOR FORMIlNG TUFTED FABRICS Frank William Riddle, Biscoe, N.C., assignor to Aileen Mills Company, Biscoe, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina p Filed Mar. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 720,302 11 Claims. (Cl. 26-11) This invention relates to improvements in apparatus and methods for making tufted fabrics, and more particularly to the severing of continuous tuft cords, ernH ployed in the manufacture of such fabrics, after weaving of the cords into the fabric. This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 717,527, filed February 25, `1958.

IIt is a common expedient in the manufacture of fabrics of this character to feed continuous tu-ft cords, each comprising ya bundle of threads, in parallel relation and in the direction of and above the warp threads of the fabric. By suitable manipulation of the loam harness controlled by the feeding of an appropriate pattern to the loom dobby or the like, the tuft cords are depressed at intervals, together with selected warp threads, to provide a shed for the passage of the shuttle, whereby the cords are woven into the fabric at spaced points in the length thereof. Intermediate these points the cords are free, constituting loops, and the loops thus for-med in the cords are disposed in rows, generally aligned transversely of the fabric. Tufts are then formed by severing the loops, thereby forming the tuft ends.

Two exemplary machines which operate either as components of the loom or as attachments for or adjuncts to `a loom to sever these loops are disclosed and described in my Patents 2,664,920 and 2,664,921 issued January 5, 1954. Both of these machines cooperate with a loom in such a fashion that the loom provides rollers for positioning the fabric with respect to the cutting tool. Also, when such a machine is attached to a loom, it can sever the loops on only that fabric produced by that one loom. 1f, however, a machine of this type is operated independently of the loom, it may operate at suicient speeds to handle the fabric produced by more than one loom. Since the cutting members of these machines move at varying speeds, transversely of the fabric, they exhibit limited capabilities for high speed operation. The Work strokes of these machines incorporate reversals of direction of travel of the cutting member. At each reversal, the cutting member comes to a stop and starts in the opposite direction, giving rise to variations in the cutting speed of the cutting member. Such variations in cutting -speed limit the speed at which the fabric may be moved.

If lhigh speed operation is desired, it is necessary to increase the longitudinal pull on the fabric. When the .longitudinal pull on the fabric is increased, the usual apparatus for producing transverse tension in the fabric is inadequate to produce sufficient tension for `an accurate cutting operation. f

In accordance with another machine, which is disclosed and described in detail in my aforementioned application Serial No. 717,527 filed February 25, 1958, there is disclosed an improved device for forming tufted fabrics. This device comprises certain novel rollers for passing the fabric through a Working plane while'maintaining transverse `and longitudinal tension on the fabric and bringing the cutting device into engagement with the fabric while it is in this Working plane. The cutting devices comprise -an upper and a lower assembly, the lower assembly being slidably mounted in the upper assembly. A cam surface is arranged in the path of the .cutting devicesand this cam surface engages a roller rotatably mounted on the lower cutting assembly. The

rates atent lower assembly is raised and lowered out of engagement with the fabric in response to the undulations of the cam surface. The lower portion of the cutting assembly comprises a cutting wheel and a shoe mounted below the cutting wheel which shoe raises the loops into engagement with the cutting wheel when the lower assembly is in its fabric engaging position. The cutting wheel and shoe are mounted on a shaft which is slidably mounted in the lower assembly so that the cutting wheel may move laterally with respect to the lower assembly in a direction transverse to the cutting stroke. Prior to each work stroke, the cutting wheel is positioned a predetermined distance from the remainder of the lower assembly to permit lateral movement in either direction during the work stroke and thus prevent the 'work engaging shoe from opposing the movement of the fabric. Subsequent investigation has led to the development of an improved cutting apparatus.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus for producing tufted fabrics.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus for producing tufted fabrics, which apparatus is adapted for relatively high speed operation.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved method for producing tufted fabrics.

It is another object of this invention to provide high speed apparatus to be operated independently of the loom whereby loops may be rapidly severed substantially midway of each loop with a high degree of accuracy and uniformity.

lt is another object of this invention to provide a simple and economical device for producing tufted fabrics.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device which has a mode of operation adapted to high operating speeds.

Briefly in accordance with aspects of this invention, the cutting device is mounted on a continuous belt and a cutting wheel is mounted on an axle which moves in a horizontal plane. The work engaging shoe, which is secured to this same axle, is merely pivoted about this axle to engage 'and disengage the fabric. When this work engaging shoe is pivoted in a downward direction, the toe of the shoe is tilted to engage the loops on the fabric and lifft these loops into engagement with the cutting wheel. When the work engaging shoe is pivoted to its other extreme position, the toe of the shoe is inclined above the loops of the fabric and the shoe slides over the loops so that the loops are not lifted into engagement with the cutting wheel.

-In -accordance with other aspects of this invention the position of the work engaging shoe is controlled by cam surfaces which engage rollers pivotally mounted on the cutting assembly.

In accordance with still other aspects of this invention, `the cam surface forms the additional function of transversely positioning the cutting wheel intermediate its lateral terminal positions prior to each work stroke.

In accordance with still other aspects of this invention, a pivot or lever arm is pivotally mounted on the cutting wheel axle and a pair of rollers are operatively connected to the ends of this lever arm. The rst roller is mounted with its axis in a vertical plane on a rod which is slidably mounted wit-hin the Alever arm. This slidable mounting of the -frst roller extends to the cutting lwheel housing and when this iirst roller is brought into engage ment with the cam surface, the cooperation of the cam surface and the -frst roller laterally positions the cutting Wheel. A second roller is rotatably mounted on the other end of the lever larm with the axle of the second `roller `secured in-a horizontal plane. The second roller is positioned to engage a portion of the cam surface and in so doing it depresses the other end of the lever arm, thus bringing the lirst roller, which is on the opposite end of the lever arm, into engagement with an apron on the cam surface. The downward movement of the second roller is translated through the sliding linkage to the work engaging shoe and the toe of the work engaging shoe is pivoted out of engagement with the loops of the fabric. This pivoting action takes place just before the work engaging shoe reaches the selvage of the fabric. The cam surface extends a substantial distance along the path followed by the cutting assembly, and maintains the work engaging shoe in a disengaged position until the shoe has passed over a substantial portion of the fabric. During the time that the shoe is held in a disengaging position, the first roller is engaged with an apron of the cam surface which moves the cutting member into a position intermediate its transverse terminal positions. Thus, the cam surface performs the functions of controlling the position of the work engaging shoe and controlling the transverse position of the cutting wheel.

In accordance with still other aspects of this invention, one end of the lever arm is connected to the cutting asassembly bearing housing by means of a spring. A stop is secured to this housing to limit the rotation of the lever arm in response to the spring. This spring acts to return the lever arm to a stop-engaging position after the rollers have passed the cam surfaces.

Also advantageously, rotation of the cutting wheel is obtained from a small motor mounted on the cutting assembly and connected through suitable pulleys to the axle of the cutting wheel. Power for the motor is derived from a pair of parallel track members which extend around the oval track followed by the cutting assembly. These parallel tracks are connected to a suitable source of electrical power. The rotation of the cutting wheel is therefore independent of the movement of the cutting assembly. Thus, if the cutting assembly movement should be stopped while engaged with any ofthe loops, the cutting wheel will nevertheless continue to rotate and sever these loops rather than tear these loops from the fabric.

Accordingly, it is a feature of this invention to provide a cutting assembly with an axle for the cutting wheel which is always moved in the same horizontal plane and a shoe connected to the axle which isl engaged and disengaged relative to the loops on the fabric by tilting the shoe.

vIt is another feature of this invention to transversely position the cutting wheel by means of a cam surface and a roller connected to the cutting wheel housing.

It is another feature of this invention to provide a roller connected to the cutting wheel housing which roller vis mounted on a vertical shaft and engages an apron on Ia cam surface to laterally position the cutting wheel prior to each work stroke.

It is another feature of this invention to provide the cutting assembly with a lever arm on which a roller is rotatably mounted and to bring this roller into engagement with a cam surface to tilt the work engaging shoe to a fabric disengaging position.

It is another feature of this invention to provide the cutting assembly with -a pivotally mounted arm having rollers rotatably mounted on both ends to engage a cam surface and transversely position the cutting wheel and tiltably position the work engaging shoe which is secured to the cutting wheel housing.

It is another feature of this invention to employ a spring coupled between the pivotally mounted arm and the cutting assembly to return the arm to its normal stop engaging position and thus return the work engaging shoe to its fabric engaging position after the horizontally mounted roller is disengaged from the cam surface.

Further features and objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE l is a partial plan view of a cutting assembly in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in elevation of two of the cutting devices shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of one of the cutting assemblies and a portion of the cooperating apparatus;

FIGURE 4 is a plan View of the cutting device of FIGURE 3 taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view in elevation of the device of FIGURE 4 taken along the line 55.

Referring now to the drawing, there are depicted cutting assemblies 10 mounted to travel around an oval track on framework l12. Each of the cutting assemblies 10` is secured to a belt 13 by means of metal brackets 15 (shown in FIGURE 3) and bolts 16. Belt 13 is driven by means of a suitable motor and gear train (not shown) which gear train is connected to pulley 18. Pulley 18 is rotatably mounted on the framework by means of axle 20. A similar pulley (not shown) is mounted on the opposite end of the oval track on framework 12. The various members of the oval track and the supporting framework are secured together by suitable bolts and nuts, such as 22 and 24 respectively, shown in FIGURE 1.

A cam surface 27 is mounted on the framework 12 adjacent each pulley 18 to control the transverse positioning of the cutting wheel and the angle of inclination of the work engaging shoe in a manner which will be subsequently explained.

Cutting assembly 10 comprises a shaft 30 rotatably and slidably mounted in la bearing housing 32 by means of a bearing 33. Cutting wheel 35 is Secured to one end of shaft 30 and a pulley 37 is secured to the other end of shaft 30 on one side of bearing housing 32 by means of which the cutting wheel is driven. Cutting wheel 35 is substantially enclosed within a housing 40. A fabric loop engaging shoe 41 is mounted beneath housing 40 and secured thereto by means of a suitable screw 38. The cutting wheel 35 is secured to shaft 30 by means of an axially aligned bolt 43 and a massive washer 45. Cutting wheel housing 40 is rotatably mounted on shaft 30 and secured against rotation by means of a linkage including arm 47, elongated rod 44, cylindrical member 46, a lever arm 48 and a lever stop 49. Rod 44 is secured to `arm 47 by means of suitable nuts, such as 51, which threadably engage rod 44. Rod 44 is slidably mounted in cylindrical member 46 and member 46 is secured to arm 48 by means of a suitable annular nut 50. Lever arm 48 is pivotally mounted on shaft 30 and has a roller member 52 extending therefrom and rotatably mounted on a horizontal axle. Another roller member 56 is rotatably mounted on an axle 57 which is secured to elongated rod 44. Axle 57 is mounted in a vertical plane so that roller member 56 rotates in a horizontal plane.

Cam surface 27 comprises surfaces which cooperate with roller 56 to control the lateral positioning of the cutting wheel 35 as well as with roller 52 to control the angle of inclination of the work engaging shoe 41. Cam surface 27 comprises an upturned ange 28 and downwardly extending aprons 29 connected to a substantially horizontal surface 31 along the longitudinal edges thereof. As the cutting units are moved around the oval path, the first roller 56 is normally in a position below cam surface 27. When roller 52 reaches the upturned ange 28 roller 52 is depressed causing roller 56, which is on the opposite end of lever arm 48, to be moved into engagement with a cam apron 29. Also, the upward motion of roller 56 is accompanied by an upward tilting lof toe 41' of shoe 41, such as shown on the right hand portion of FIGURE 2. Thus, the fabric which lies generally in the plane 58 will not be engaged by the toe 41 of shoe 41. However, when the cutting unit has moved to a position such that roller 52 passes beyond the end of cam surface 27, roller 52 is returned to its normal position by means of a spring 60, shown in FIGURES 3, 4'and 5.

A lever stop member 49, best seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, is secured to bearing housing 32 by suitable means, such as by Welding, and extends beneath lever arm 4S to define a limiting position of lever arm 48. Spring 60 exerts an upward pull on one end of lever arm 48 to cause the other end of lever arm 48 to normally engage stop 49, which position is best seen in FIGURE 5. Accordingly, after roller 52 disengages the end of cam surface 27, lever arm 48 is pulled upwardly by spring 6ft and the other end of lever arm 48 engages abutment or stop 49. When spring 60 pulls on arm 48 and restores roller 52 to its initial position, then toe 41 of shoe 41 is tilted downwardly to engage the loops of the fabric.

The transverse positioning of the cutting wheel is accomplished by the engagement of roller 56 with an apron 29 of cam surface 27. As best seen in FIGURE 1, when roller 52 is depressed by the upturned edge 28, roller 56, which is mounted on the opposite end of lever arm 4S, is moved upwardly into engagement with one of the aprons Z9 as was previously described. Since aprons 29' are positioned at an angle with respect to the path of the cutting assembly 10, roller 56 moves toward the center of the oval track as best seen on the left hand view o-f FIGURE 1. Because the roller 56 is connected to rod 44 which rod is secured to the cutting wheel housing 4i) by means of arm 46, moving of the roller 56 in response to its engagement with the angularly positioned apron 29 moves the housing 40 which in turn moves the shaft 30 axially of the housing 32.

When roller 56 reaches the edge of cam surface 27, the cutting wheel housing 40 has been moved to a position intermediate its transverse terminal positions. Thus, when roller S2 passes beyond the edge of cam surface 27, the work engaging shoe 41 will be tilted so that the toe 41 engages the loops and the entire cutting wheel 35, work engaging shoe 41 and cutting housing 4t) are free to move in either transverse direction and thus follow the pull exerted by the loops engaged by shoe 4:1. Since the cutting stroke does not begin until after the cutting unit has passed one selvage, then the cutting unit 'will supplement rather than diminish the transverse tension on the fabric. As was explained in connection with my prior application, Serial No. 717,527, iiled February 25, 1958, these cutting strokes are arranged so that they overlap substantially as the cutting units pass in opposite directions across the fabric in completing one cycle around the oval path. Any pull introduced by the work engaging shoe 41 will tend to supplement rather than detract from the transverse tension in the fabric produced by the rollers since the major portion of each stroke is away from the centerline of the fabric. Advantageously, a system of rollers may be employed to produce longitudinal and transverse tension in the fabric, such as the roller assembly described in detail in my above-mentioned application. At the end of the cutting stroke the cutting wheel housing 40 is moved to its extreme axial outer position by centrifugal force as the cutting assembly passes around the pulley 1S.

The cutting wheel is rotated by an independently operated motor 66, as diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 3. This motor is secured to bearing housing 32 by means of any suitable bracket, such as bracket 68. The position of motor 66 in FIGURE 3 is merely diagrammatic. In actuality, the motor is mounted above the axle 30 but in a position such that it Will clear the cam surface 27. This bracket may be fastened to motor 66 and to the bearing housing by any .convenient means, such as by welding. Motor l66 has a pulley 69 mounted on the armature shaft 7 0` to deliver torque to pulley 37 by means of a suitable belt 72. Since pulley 3K7 is secured against rotation on shaft 30 by means of a key '74, shaft 30 will be rotated by motor 66 and cutting wheel 35 which is secured to shaft 30 will rotate to sever the loops on the fabric.

Power for 4the electric motor 66 is supplied through a pair of brushes which contact a pair of tracks 82 mounted on U shaped member and insulated therefrom in any convenient manner, such as by means of plastic blocks. Parallel tracks 82 maybe connected to any convenient electrical outlet by means of wires (not shown). The electric current from brushes 80 flows through conductors `S6 which pass through insulating member 88 mounted in suitable apertures in .bracket 15. Conductors 86 are connected to a pair of wires 90 which connect to the windings of motor 66. U shaped members 85 and 92 form a portion of the framework for the oval track and are held in spaced relationship by bolts and nuts, such as bolt 22 and nut 24, shown in FIGURE 1.

Thus, it is apparent that the applicants novel apparatus represents a very simplied mechanism for cutting the loops of fabrics to form tufts. The engaging and disengaging of the cutting assemblies with the fabric, as well as the lateral positioning of the cutting wheel and Work engaging shoe are controlled by a pair of rollers which engage cam surfaces. Since bracket l5 represents a rigid connection -between belt 13 and bearing housing 32, shaft 30 will always move in one horizontal plane. Such an arrangement provides a relatively secure mounting for shaft 30 even though lateral torque may be developed by the pull of the lops engaged by shoe 41 which acts on a lever arm defined by shaft 30.

By the use of an independent drive motor for the cutting wheel, it is possible to continuously rotate the cutting wheel at high speeds and this rotation will continue even if the movement of the cutting assemblies is arrested.

While I have show and described various embodiments of my invention, it is appreciated that the principlm thereof may be extended to many and varied types of machines and apparatus. The invention therefore is not to be limited to the details illustrated and described herein.

Having th-us described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. In a machine for forming tufted fabrics by severing loops attached to the fabric, an oval track positioned on said machine with its greater dimension transverse to the direction of movement of said fabric, means mounted for movement `along said track to define two work strokes in opposite `directions for severing said loops, work engaging means pivotally connected to said severing means, cam means operatively coupled to said work engaging means for pivoting said work engaging means with lrespect to said fabric whereby said work engaging means is pivoted to a fabric disengaging position prior to each work stroke and means for pivoting said work engaging means to a work engaging position at the beginning of each work stroke, said cam means including means for transversely positioning said work engaging means and said severing means relative to and prior to each work stroke.

2. :In a machine according to claim 1 wherein said severing means includes a cutting wheel rotatably mounted within a wheel housing and wherein said work engaging means includes a work engaging shoe connected to said housing, said cam means including means for rotating said housing to control the angle of inclination o-f said shoe, whereby said shoe is directed away from said fabric to said fabric idisengaging position.

3. In a machine according to claim 1 wherein said cam means includes a roller connected to said work engaging means and a cam surface positioned to engage said roller for pivoting said work engaging means to said fabric disengaging position prior to each work stroke.

4. In a machine according to claim l wherein said cam means includes a iirst and second cam surface mounted on said machine and a rst and second roller means connected to said work engaging means for operatively engaging said rst and second cam surfaces respectively,

said second roller means pivoting said work engaging means out of engagement with said fabric upon engagement with said second cam surface.

5. In a machine according to claim 4, wherein said first roller means includes means to transversely position said work engaging means and said severing means prior to each work stroke upon engagement with said first cam surface.

6. In a machine according to claim 5, wherein said second roller means comprises means responsive to said second cam surface for moving said first roller means into engagement with said first cam surface prior to each work stroke, wherein said rst roller means cooperates with said first cam surface to move said work engaging means and said severing means into an intermediate transverse position relative to said Work stroke and whereby said second roller means cooperates with said second cam surface to simultaneously move said work engaging means to said fabric disengaging position prior to each Work stroke.

7. In a machine according to claim 6, wherein said means for pivoting said work engaging means into said work engaging position includes spring means connected to said severing means and to said work engaging means for pivoting said work engaging means to said work engaging position after said second roller means disengages said cam means.

8. In a machine according to claim 7 further comprising motor means mounted on said severing means for rotating said severing means.

9. A machine for forming tufted fabrics by severing loops attached to` the fabric comprising an oval track positioned on said machine with its greater dimension transverse to the direction of movement of said fabric, a cutting assembly mounted for movement along said track to define at least one work stroke including a shaft rotatably mounted in said assembly, a cutting wheel secured to said shaft, -a cutting -wheel housing mounted on said shaft and pivotally mounted about said cutting wheel, a

work engaging shoe mounted beneath said housing, a rod member connected to said housing, a pivot arm pivotally mounted on said cutting wheel shaft and coupled to said rod member, a roller member rotatably mounted on said pivot arm and stationary cam means on said machine for operatively engaging said roller member to rotate said work engaging shoe thereby causing said shoe to tilt to a work disengaging position upon movement of said assembly into engagement with said cam means.

1'0. A machine according to claim 9, wherein said rod member is slidably mounted in a cylinder connected to said pivot arm and wherein a second roller member is mounted on said rod and is moved into engagement with said cam means when said rst mentioned roller member engages said cam means.

11. In a machine according to claim 10 further comprising a stop member mounted on said cutting assembly for engaging said pivot arm and spring means for moving said pivot arm into engagement with said stop member when said first roller member disengages said cam means upon movement of the assembly beyond said cam means whereby said shoe is tilted into a work engaging position.

References Cited inthe tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 876,462 Keighley et al Jan. 14, 1908 893,474 Fulton July 14, 1908 1,557,345 Schumacher Oct. 13, 1925 1,914,528 Reid June 20, 1933 2,444,079 Weber et al June 29, 1948 2,598,578 McCutchen et al May 27, 1952 2,598,579 McCutchen et a1 May 27, 1952 2,664,920 Riddle Jan. 5, 1954 12,664,921 Riddle Jan. 5, 1954 2,685,309 Schaller Aug. 3, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 129,860 Switzerland Jan. 2, 1929 

